Workshops on Request are presented by CTLS staff and require a minimum of 3 participants, which can be a combination of library staff, board members, and volunteers. Invite neighboring library staff and make it more fun! Contact the presenter to book a workshop.

The Dark Side of Teen Fiction

4 hours CE credit
Getting teens to read is sometimes a challenge.   We hear our kids talking about books, but not many of read YA fiction (what’s up with all the vampires werewolves and zombies?).  How can we buy the best and most readable books being published for teens and pre-teens?  What are the real “must haves” in YA?  How can we keep current and provide readers’ advisory services that will inspire kids to read?  Come away with great genre lists for teens and a new respect for this literary explosion!
Presented upon Request: Jennifer Patterson
Cost: Members – $10 per person + mileage  nonmembers – $25 per person + mileage

Design and Manage Your Own Website Using Plinkit

3 hours CE credit
Learn to create and edit your library’s website right through the web. Plinkit, Public Library Interface Kit, offers powerful features that make a tough job simpler and will give your library a clean, usable website.  The software and website hosting is provided by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Presented on request: Kam McEvoy
Cost: Members – $10 per person + mileage  nonmembers – $25 per person + mileage

Online History & Genealogy

2 hours CE credit
Help your local historians and genealogists find useful information online at your library. You will get hands-on practice using HeritageQuest, a database of the United States Census and over 25,000 family and local histories.  Other useful online history sites will also be featured.
Presented on request: Laurie Mahaffey
Cost: Members – $10 per person + mileage  nonmembers – $25 per person + mileage   

Reference 2.0

3 hours CE credit
Designed for those who want to expand their reference skills and make better use of electronic resources.  Participants will review the information-seeking skills required for working with patrons, discuss how the Internet has changed reference service, and also view familiar reference resources now available online.
Presented on request: Kam McEvoy, Jennifer Patterson
Cost: Members – $10 per person + mileage  nonmembers – $25 per person + mileage

Serving Your Entire Community: Board Development Training

2 hours CE credit
This workshop focuses on the special information needs of a library board. Areas that may be covered include: responsibilities of board members, scope of services offered, library advocacy and community involvement, and the board’s relationship with library staff, local government, and the public.
Presented on request: Pat Tuohy
Cost: Members – $10 per person + mileage  nonmembers – $25 per person + mileage

Storytime Sign Language

3 hours CE credit
Babies can communicate long before they talk.  Learn how to facilitate this communication through basic signing at storytime.  Bring your favorite picture book and learn to use it with sign.
Presented on request: Suzan Nyfeler
Cost: Members – $20 (includes purchased handouts) nonmembers – $35 per person (includes purchased handouts)

Strategies for Serving Diverse Customers

3 hours CE credit
This workshop is designed to strengthen customer service skills while emphasizing the importance of making all segments of the community feel welcome at the library. We will discuss general customer service principles as well as specific problems occurring in your library. Learn and practice a proven communications technique which will help staff work more confidently with all types of patrons.
Presented upon Request: Jennifer Patterson
Cost: Members – $10 per person + mileage  nonmembers – $25 per person + mileage

Texshare Database Review

2 hours CE credit
Here’s your chance to get some hands-on practice using the full-text magazine, journal and newspaper databases provided by Texas State Library and Archives Commission.  The workshop can be tailored to cover the specific databases you think are most important in your community.
Presented on request: Kam McEvoy
Cost: Members – $10 per person +mileage   nonmembers – $25 per person + mileage  

Long Range Planning for Small Libraries

8 hours CE credit
What are your library’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?  What segments of your population are you not serving right now?  This workshop walks participants through the stages of planning by breaking up the topic into parts. Intended for monthly meetings with board, staff, and community participants, by the end of four 2-hour sessions, participants will have a working draft of a strategic plan.
Small libraries usually must start with a simplified approach to planning. which can later be fleshed out with action steps and a timeline.
Presented upon Request: Jennifer Patterson
Cost: contact Jennifer for a quote

Teambuilding Using the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

3 hours CE credit
This is the perfect staff development workshop! We all have a lot to learn about building teams within our organizations. Positive work environments don’t just happen—they require effort. This workshop explores the dynamics of interpersonal communication and personality using the MBTI.
Presented upon Request: Jennifer Patterson
Cost: Members – $30 per person (includes purchased handouts) + mileage cost
Non-members – contact Jennifer for a quote

Weeding Your Children’s Collection

3 hours CE credit
Do your space books cover the Moon landing as if it just happened?  Are your picture books so dog-eared that they look like a health hazard?  Believe it or not, less is more.  If you get rid of the dross, your good books will fly off the shelves.  Use the CREW Method to weed one part of your children’s collection.  This workshop is for library staff that want to weed, but need a little help getting started.
Presented on request: Suzan Nyfeler
Cost: Members – $10 per person + mileage  Non-members – $25 per person + mileage

Weeding Your Adult Collection

3 hours CE credit
Are your shelves crowded? Do they look dingy? Then this workshop is for you. Learn the basic rules for weeding the different parts of a library collection. Working with the CREW Method, you select a section of your library to be weeded. The workshop is for library staff that want to weed, but need a little help getting started.
Presented on request: Laurie Mahaffey
Cost: Members – $10 per person + mileage  Non-members – $25 per person + mileage